All Along The San Juan River Gallery
Basketmaker II images with a large Anthropomorph and atlatl were etched on a cliff face at Sand Island on the San Juan River. The Basketmaker II culture is the earliest stage of the Anasazi archaeological tradition (Ancestral Pueblo cultural tradition) dating from 1000 BCE to 550 CE. The word Anasazi is Navajo for "Ancient Ones" or "Enemy Ancestors." They emerged from the Archaic people on the Colorado Plateau. Basketmaker II people used the atlatl for hunting and woven baskets for everyday chores and utensils. The next stage as defined by the Pecos Classification is the Basketmaker III with introduction of pottery, the bow and arrow and the harvesting and cooking of beans (450-500 to 750 CE). Next came Pueblo I (700-750 to 950 CE), Pueblo II (900-950 to 1150 CE), and Pueblo III to early Pueblo IV (1150-1350 to 1450 CE). |